Locating Missing Birth Certificates

It's frustrating and time-consuming when you cannot find a birth certificate so here are a few tips to help break the silence.

Where they in their neighbourhood?
Remember that the birth was registered in the district where it occurred so if you can’t find the birth certificate it may be because the parents were not in their own neighbourhood.  If you have found a possible individual in the index reference which looks like it could be your ancestor, request a copy of the certificate anyway, even though the district isn't right just to be sure. 

Did the parents register the birth within 30 days?
After 1874 a birth, marriage or death had to be registered within thirty days, however, this was not always the case.  If you cannot find the record within thirty days of the birth, check to see if the child was registered after the specified time period. 

Were they registered at all?
Of course there is always the possibility that the parents didn’t register the child or that the date of birth might be incorrect in which case check five years either side of the known date. 

 Which quarterly index will they be in?
Bear in mind that a child born at the end of March, June or September may be in the next quarterly index rather than the one which matches their date of birth.

Check under the mother's maiden name
A child may be registered under the mother’s maiden name because it was either illegitimate or perhaps not her husbands child.  If you know which district the child was born, it may be worth asking the local registration office to check for the certificate. 

Was that their real name?
Watch out for Christian names.  An ancestor may have been known by the name they were baptised with rather than the one they were registered by.  Names could have been dropped or added later or they could be in reverse order to that which they were later known by.

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